No, not the awful, smelly, cringe-inducing-accent having state up in the north east — the Armpit of America, if you will — I’m talking about the movie.
Though I’m not exactly a big movie person, the previews grabbed me and I decided to watch it despite knowing full well that it’s an unmitigated chick flick. That’s alright. It was good… I didn’t think it was amazing or life-changing, but it was a good movie definitely worth renting.
I’m blogging about it, though, because I thought I’d just put everyone on the look out… if you meet a real-life incarnation of Sam (Natalie Portman’s character), you ought to let me know immediately. Hell, just send her on down to Tuscaloosa… I’ll even pay for the shipping… erm… I mean, “plane tickets.”
If you need more to go on, check out the movie stills or this portion of a Washington Post review of the movie:
And as Sam, an impulsive, life-loving free spirit who could be the younger sister of Kate Winslet’s character in “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” Portman proves what a versatile actress she can be. Viewers will no doubt laugh at the droll visual one-liners throughout “Garden State” — the sight of Braff standing against floral wallpaper in a shirt made from the same fabric; a seeing-eye dog humping Large’s leg; a Medieval Times waiter, in full armor, eating a bowl of Lucky Charms — but it’s Portman’s performance that will stay with them. In a role that demands tears one moment and tap dancing the next, she takes what might have been merely an ironic or self-indulgent exercise and brings it to warm, wacky life. She even inspires a person to use words like “warm” and “wacky” without gagging, a fact that Large would surely agree makes Sam the best of several very lovely things about “Garden State.”
Oh, and if you happen to find said girl, but she happens not to be a compulsive liar or epileptic… all the better.
February 10th, 2005 at 4:14 pm
what’s wrong with epilepsy? some of us are “blessed” with such a condition, and i’d consider you lucky to have some of us ;o)
February 10th, 2005 at 4:21 pm
There’s not anything WRONG with it, but my (possibly ignorant) opinion is that it would be better not to have it. Of course, were I lucky enough to find myself an identical copy of Sam, I would not balk even momentarily over the epilepsy OR compulsive lying.
February 10th, 2005 at 4:35 pm
Such harsh and malicious words about my home state from someone who has probably never spent any real quality time here - for shame Pete! TISK TISK
February 12th, 2005 at 12:17 pm
heh heh, i just wanted to give you a hard time; it seems to be the nature of our ephemeral friendship…